


Summer Camp

by often_adamanta



Series: Camp Universe [1]
Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-03
Updated: 2007-04-03
Packaged: 2017-10-22 08:29:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/236112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/often_adamanta/pseuds/often_adamanta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Beta'd by <span class="ljuser ljuser-name_talesinbloom"><a href="http://talesinbloom.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://talesinbloom.livejournal.com/"><b>talesinbloom</b></a></span></p>
    </blockquote>





	Summer Camp

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by [](http://talesinbloom.livejournal.com/profile)[**talesinbloom**](http://talesinbloom.livejournal.com/)

_the faucet outside the dining hall, 10:57 am_

"Hey, what are you doing? You have time to just sit around?" Elijah asked as he looked up from filling what seemed like the thousandth water balloon.

"Billy's doing story time."

"Oh." Dom had been banned from story telling after he'd made up the thrilling tale of Sir Bumsalot and his Bumskateers who fought evil and saved damsels with the cunning strategy of dropping trou. The kids had mooned each other constantly for the rest of the week. "Well, help me tie the knots. My fingers are killing me."

"Can't have that, now can we?" Dom leered as he took the balloon. "Orli needs those fingers in working order."

Elijah hated that he blushed. "I need these fingers in working order. Liv roped me into helping with the finger painting this afternoon."

"She just doesn't want to get paint in her hair again. Hell, I don't want her to get paint in her hair again with the way she whines about it."

"I just got my hair colored! I didn't need it done again!" Elijah mimicked in a high falsetto, laughing.

"It takes me forever to wash out, and there's not enough hot water!" Dom joined in, doing a startlingly accurate impression of Liv's voice.

Elijah decided he didn't want to know and handed Dom another balloon.

"Hey, do you think we could fill these with paint?"

"No." Elijah's voice was very firm. He was not getting on Liv's bad side again.

"You're no fun."

"Get Billy to help you. Liv can't stay mad at him. I think it's the accent. And the fact that she knows you have him by the short andcurlies."

Dom grinned. "I love his short and curlies. And the things they're attached to."

Elijah rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Dom!" They turned to see one of the campers was standing there. "Billy says to get your lazy arse back over here. It's time to go."

"Uh, Mark, I don't know if you should say 'arse'," Elijah told him.

"It's alright," Dom argued. "It's not a bad word. It's British."

"Billy says it's Scottish," Mark contradicted him.

"Same difference," Elijah muttered under his breath.

"Got to go," Dom said with a grin, ignoring his comment and handing him back a balloon. "Billy wants my arse." He laughed at his own joke and trotted off with Mark at his heels, arguing about the geographical root of the word 'arse'.

Elijah sighed and turned back to making water balloons.

Beanie stuck his head out the door, smiling in a somewhat demented fashion when he saw Elijah sitting there.

"Hey, come try this for me, will you?" Beanie called. "It's a new recipe."

"Uh, no, sorry," Elijah replied quickly while trying to repress a shudder. "I have to get these done asap."

"Alright. You'll just have to wait for lunch, then." He ducked back into the kitchen.

Elijah tried not to gag at the thought and tied off yet another balloon.

 _the dining hall, 12:15 pm_

"I think this might be his best dish yet," Liv was saying as Elijah poked at the lump on his plate.

"I can't even tell what it's supposed to be. I mean, I can normally guess what he was aiming for, at least."

"He's a genius," Liv continued, ignoring him. "I always loose at least fifteen pounds over the summer."

"I'd call it mystery meat, but I'm not sure it's meat."

"My friends always ask me what my secret is, but I just tell them that I get so much exercise out here!"

Elijah snorted. That was total crap. Liv did as little of that as she could while still doing her job.

A little girl ran up to Liv crying and stuck a small finger in her face.

"Oh, no. A splinter?" The girl nodded. "Want to go see Nurse Sean?" She nodded again, tears falling a little slower. "Alright, sweetie, let's go."

"Hey, Elijah," Orli called, poking his head in the door. "Help me carry the water balloons down to the pool, will you?"

Elijah turned to look at Billy and Dom. Dom hadn't killed anyone (yet), and Billy waved at him to go on. "Sure," he said, dropping his fork and getting away from Beanie's new recipe as quickly as possible.

 _10 feet from the pool, 12:31 pm_

"Maybe we can just roll them the rest of the way," Orli suggested.

"Pop any of these, and I'll break your fucking arm."

"Language," Orli scolded. "And besides, if I have to carry these much further, my arm's gonna break anyway," he added as they crossed the last couple feet to the gate. "There."

"I want to know why I got stuck with making all of these to begin with. You're the one in charge of water sports."

"I had archery this morning, Lij, you know that." He grinned suddenly. "One of the boys almost shot a squirrel." He pulled the bucket of balloons inside and closed the gate behind them. They left the balloons there and continued on into the tiny pool house.

"I hurt my fingers," Elijah pouted, showing Orli where they were raw and reddened from tying more balloons than anyone should have to tie ever.

"Aww," Orli cooed, "Do you want to see the Nurse?"

"No," Elijah replied and rolled his eyes. Orli grinned, grabbed Elijah's hand and stuck the sore fingers into his mouth, sucking on them.

Elijah gasped, and leaned closer, kissing the corner of Orli's mouth before pulling his fingers free and filling the void with his tongue.

He breathed in through his nose and smelled chlorine and coconut sunscreen, both of which were becoming more potent than any aphrodisiac on his system becauseOrli always smelled of it.

Orli backed him into one of the shower stalls, clawing at the zipper of his denim shorts. Elijah reached for his, and soon they were pushing their hips together,Orli's hands on his ass to pull them closer, his hand between their bodies to try and jerk them off, writhing against each other, biting into each others mouths.Orli moaned loudly, even though it was muffled against Elijah's face, and came wetly against their stomachs. Elijah got one really good pull on his cock, slippery withOrli's come, and came just after him.

He slumped back against the wall, shoulder knocking against something hard and then freezing cold water was pouring down on them.Orli laughed and turned his head into the spray. Water and come dripped off their bodies and slid down the drain. Elijah raised his head and lickedOrli's temple, tasting sweat and chlorine. "We have some time," Orli told him. "Let's go swimming."

"Alright," Elijah agreed, thinking it was a good thing he'd learned to keep swim trunks and a change of clothes here for emergencies.

 _the dining hall, 1:23 pm_

A car pulled into camp, winding its way up the narrow road before parking outside the dining hall. The campers were all sitting in the shade of the building, talking quietly as they hid from the heat of midday and waited until it was time to go to visit Liv in the designated arts and crafts building. They kept to a pretty strict schedule. Children are creatures of habit.

This deviation from the norm caught everyone's attention. Elijah saw their interest as he returned from the pool, hair drying quickly in the hot air.

A small blond woman emerged from the car.

Dom let out a battle cry and soon all the campers were charging the woman, screaming at the top of their lungs.

She looked startled, but held her ground, as if deciding that running from a pack of kids was far too ridiculous. Elijah hurried over, making his way through the rowdy crowd with practiced ease.

"Hi, I'm Elijah," he said, smiling in a manner that would have been reassuring if they hadn't been standing in a circle of forty children pretending to be pirates with Dom as their Captain.

"Arrgh!" Dom yelled, "Take no prisoners!"

"I'm Miranda," she responded, sounding a bit shocked.

"You must be the new staff person."

She nodded. "Um, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I hit a squirrel or something on the way in."

"That's alright," Elijah said, just as Dom shouted, "DEAD ANIMAL!" Pirate alter-ego forgotten immediately.

The kids immediately started singing the batman theme song. "Nahnahnahnahnahnahnahnahnahnahnahnahnahnahnahnah-DATMAN!"

Viggo appeared out of nowhere, smiling like a loon. "You called?" It was creepy, how he did that. He had to be stalking them, just waiting for his chance to materialize at the campers' summons.

"Batman?" Miranda asked him faintly.

"Oh, no. DATman," Elijah emphasized. "Dead Animal Technician."

"Oh," she said and relaxed into a smile. "That's clever."

Elijah smiled back.

"Roadkill toward the main entrance, Datman! You're the only one who can save us!" Dom was saying.

The kids cheered, swarming around Viggo.

"I'm on it," Viggo said, and set off with a long-legged swagger.

Billy finally put an end to the chaos by calling out that it was time to go see Liv, and they all turned and headed that direction, Elijah and Miranda walking behind them.

 _the craft shack, 1:36 pm_

"Thank God," Liv said as he and Miranda arrived. "More estrogen." She had most of the kids sitting on the long picnic tables and was passing out paper. "Don't think you're getting out of finger painting,Lij! Go get the paint. And check it first, will you?" She shot Dom a glare.

He smiled back innocently. "I haven't done anything to your paint, Liv. Why don't you trust me?"

"You know why."

Dom scoffed. "Are you still on about that? It only happened once."

Miranda shot Elijah a confused look.

"Dom switches the glue and white paint all the time," Elijah explained.

"I thought he only did it once?"

"Oh. Uh, that time, he switched it with, um, something else," Elijah said, blushing.

She caught on from his flustered reaction. "He put his _come_ in the paint?"

"A glue bottle," Elijah correct. "And it was, ah, Billy's."

He realized that information like that might be a bit much. She'd already been traumatized. But she just turns to look at them, her surprised expression turning into a faint smirk. Maybe she'd work out after all. "How did he convince Billy to jerk off into a glue bottle?"

Elijah just shrugged, unwilling to answer the questions that would occur if he explained that the glue bottle was not where Billy had come.

"So," Dom said as the campers worked happily at getting as much paint all over themselves and Elijah as possible, "Mi _ran_ da. Can I call you Randy?"

"No," she answered.

He raised an eyebrow at her, leering.

She raised an eyebrow at him, unamused.

He smiled, not deterred in the least. "It's my turn for a break. C'mon. I'll show you your bunk and help you unpack."

"That'd be nice, thank you."

Elijah shook his head in dismay as they left, which caused bits of paint to fly off in different directions. "What do you want to bet she ends up with spiders in her bed?"

"No bet," Billy replied. "It's a sure thing."

"Very tricksie, getting to her before Liv could warn her."

"That's Dom for you." Billy looked a bit proud, really.

Elijah turned back to the table and was hit between the eyes with a big glob of green paint. He sighed, smiled tightly, and asked Jordan to please not throw the paint.

 _the pool, 2:30 pm_

Orli took one look at him and burst out laughing. Paint of every different color was fanning out his hair. He could feel it, cold and viscous, sliding down his neck. "I'm going to take a shower," he announced with all the pride he could muster.Orli collapsed to the ground by the side of the pool and howled. Elijah hoped that he burnt himself on the hot concrete.

The water only came out cold, but it was worth it to get the paint off. He pulled on his damp swim trunks after staying in as long as possible and went and jumped into the pool, letting it get off the rest. Three of the boys immediately swam at him, intent on dunking him beneath the water, andOrli was still grinning, glowing in the sun, eyes hidden behind dark shades. Elijah made himself look away and get back to work.

 _the big field in the middle of camp, 3:45 pm_

"So, guess what Randy brought with her. Guess! C'mon, guess!" Dom demanded as they watched Orli teach the campers how to play water balloon volleyball.

Elijah and Billy exchanged a look.

"Shampoo?" Elijah guessed.

"No," Dom scoffed. "Well, yes, but that's not it."

"Chewing gum?" Billy suggested.

Dom gave them both disgusted looks. "You guys suck at this."

"Just tell us," Billy demanded.

"A video recorder!" he announced gleefully.

"So?" Billy questioned.

"So? We can make videos!"

"That is its function, yes," Elijah conceded, trying not to laugh.

"I was thinking we should go out tonight. See if that old ghost story is true and catch it on film. We'll be famous if we record a ghost!"

"What? Like the Blair Witch Project?" Billy asked.

"That was a stupid movie," Elijah put in, hoping to change the subject.

No such luck.

"We're not pussies like they were! It'll be great. You've been saying that you wanted to go exploring at night since the beginning of summer."

Billy did look interested. "We'll have to get one of the Seans to watch the campers."

"What about Orli?" Dom asked, turning to Elijah.

Elijah shook his head. "It's his night off. There's no way he'll do it. And I'm not asking him to," he added as Dom started to argue.

"Fine. Astin, then. He likes you, Elijah, so you do it."

Elijah wasn't even sure he wanted in on this little adventure, but Billy and Dom were looking at him expectantly, so he rolled his eyes and agreed.

"We still have to get the camera," Billy pointed out.

"No problem. There's going to be a diversion in the ladies quarters tonight."

Billy and Elijah exchanged another glance but didn't ask.

"When should I tell him?" Elijah asked after a few seconds.

"Midnight, of course! The witching hour!"

"Of course," Elijah agreed. He had a really bad feeling about this. But it's not like that had ever stopped him before.

 _the dining hall, 6:20 pm_

Peter, the camp director, normally joined them for dinner several times a week. "Ah, Miranda, I'm glad you made it all right. How was the trip?"

Elijah poked at his casserole and noticed that Peter wasn't actually eating anything. Smart man.

"It was just fine, thank you. And everyone gave me such an enthusiastic welcome when I got here."

Peter's uneasy look at this announcement made Elijah wonder if he knew more about what went on in camp than he let on. "Well, we're very glad you could join us. We needed another camp leader for the girls' cabin, and the nature hikes are going to be such a welcome addition to the program! You have the rest of this week to get adjusted, and then we'll add you into the schedule."

Miranda nodded. "That sounds fine."

"Do you have any other concerns?"

"Well," she said, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I'm a vegetarian. Uh, Beanie didn't seem to know what that was, and he got pretty upset when I made myself this salad."

Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and dressing, all untouched by Beanie. Put a bit of ham on that, and Elijah was willing to become a vegetarian himself.

"I'll talk to Beanie and make sure there's plenty of vegetables, but you're probably going to have to do your own cooking."

Miranda glanced at the casserole on Peter's plate. "I'm okay with that."

"Good!" Peter smiled. "Excuse me, please, I'll go talk to him now," and he stood and went over to Beanie and Viggo where they were sitting. Viggo served himself another helping. Elijah shuddered. That man was certifiable.

 _the nurse's trailer, 8:24 pm_

Sean lived in a trailer near the camper cabins. It was the only place in camp that had air conditioning, and Elijah stood for a few minutes in the blessed cool while Sean finished dispensing evening medication.

"So what do you need? Out of calamine lotion?"

"Oh, well, yes. But I don't need anymore, that new bug spray you found is working great." Mosquitoes positively _loved_ him, and at the beginning of summer he had acquired so many bites that it'd looked like he'd come down with the chicken pox.

"Glad to hear it," Sean said, in a get-to-the-point tone.

"Listen, I was hoping you would come watch the boys for an hour or so tonight. Billy, Dom and I want to go on a night hike."

"A night hike." Sean sounded like he didn't quite believe that. Elijah hoped he didn't look suspicious.

"Yeah, Billy's been wanting to go since camp started, and he finally convinced Dom, and it's really a bad idea to let them go off on their own, so..."

"Hmm. You're taking flashlights, right?"

"Yeah."

"And a first aid kit?"

"The small one Billy keeps in his bag," Elijah assured him, refraining from rolling his eyes at Sean's overly cautious nature.

"And a compass?"

"A compass? Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm serious! You could get lost in the woods."

"Listen, we're not going to leave the camp grounds, Sean. And not by accident, either, there's a fence around the boundary. And even if we had a compass to take, none of us know how to use one."

Sean gave him an appraising look and then shook his head in surrender. "You owe me for this. What time?"

"Midnight," Elijah said, and when Sean narrowed his eyes added quickly, "We want to make sure the campers are all asleep."

He didn't think Sean believed him completely, but all he said was, "I'll be there."

 _the girls' cabin, 9:48 pm_

The first thing they heard was the screaming. Then the girls started pouring out the door of their cabin, jumping around and looking over each other. Dom, who had been waiting for this, was the first one out the door, and all the guys tumbled out after him.

"Ladies, ladies!" He called, "What's the problem?"

"YOU!" Liv yelled. Elijah couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her so livid. "You did this!" She marched right up to Dom as if she was going to hit him and stopped short a few feet short as if she remembered the girls standing around watching.

"Did what?" Dom asked, a credible amount of confusion in his voice. "What's going on?"

"There are spiders in my bed and on the floor," Miranda called out from where she was trying to calm down several of the smaller girls who were crying. For someone with a bed full of spiders, she didn't look all that upset.

"Alright, I'll just go and-"

"No!" Liv shouted as he took a step towards the cabin. "You're not going in there again!"

"Don't worry," Billy cut in. "I'll take care of it."

"Don't kill them!" Miranda and Dom both cried at the same time, and then looked at one another in surprise.

"Right. I'll take care of it humanely." He disappeared inside.

Elijah sighed. "I better help," he said, as if Billy was incapable of herding a few spiders out of the cabin.

"It's just a few daddy long legs," Miranda told him in an undertone. He nodded and went inside.

Billy was picking them up by the legs and putting them in a cloth bag. "Get the camera," Billy said in an undertone, then added in a louder voice for their audience outside, "Look all around."

It was in her backpack right where Dom had told them. Elijah got it out and stuffed it in the over-sized pocket of his shorts. "Why am I the one who has to do the stealing?" he mumbled under his breath, catching a spider Billy had missed and putting it in the bag.

Billy ignored him and collected one last spider. Glancing around, he said, "Let's go."

"What took so long?" one of the older girls asked. She wasn't wearing shoes and looked tired.

"Just making sure I got them all," Billy responded cheerfully, holding up his bag. The girls all squealed and stepped back. "I'm just going to go release them now."

"Far, far away," Liv added when the girls looked unsure about that.

"Far, far away," Billy agreed, nodding, and took off to do so.

"Alright, then. Back inside, everyone!" Liv ordered. The girls obeyed, chattering loudly amongst themselves. She shot another glare at Dom before going. "I'll deal with you later."

He smiled at her and winked. She turned red from rage and retreated back inside, slamming the door loudly.

"Temper, temper," Dom observed, turning to look at the boy campers still standing around. "Back inside!" he told them. "It's time for lights out."

Billy wandered back over with his empty bag.

"We good?" Dom asked him.

Billy glanced at Elijah and the slight bulge in his pocket. "We're good."

Dom followed his gaze and laughed. He put his arm around Elijah's shoulder as they followed their campers back inside the cabin. "So," he whispered in Elijah's ear, "Is that a camera in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Elijah rolled his eyes and pushed him away, ignoring Dom's laughter.

 _the boys' cabin, 11:59 pm_

"Elijah, wake up!" Billy whispered in his ear, shoving his shoulder.

Elijah blinked and could see Billy's face inches from his. He sat up and Billy moved away to join Dom and Sean, who appeared to be providing a last minute safety lecture. He put on his tennis shoes and then stood.

"Ready to go?" Dom whispered. Elijah nodded, and Dom smiled at Sean, clearly cutting the lecture short. "Thanks, man," he breathed, and they were out the door.

"So where are we going?" Elijah asked as they strode along though the grass and the moonlight. The moon was nearly full, but Elijah was glad that there was a sliver missing. It was creepy enough out at night without it being a full moon as well.

"Let's start by the creek," Dom decided. He was messing with the camera, fingers pushing the small buttons, big grin on his face.

This can only end badly, Elijah thought, and followed them down the hill to the creek.

 _in the woods by the creek, sometime after midnight_

"You guys, I forgot my watch." Elijah was getting that creepy, time-is-standing-still feeling, and he'd wanted to check.

"Your watch? What do need that for? We're _ghost hunting_ , Elijah. Get into the spirit. Sheesh." Dom swung the camera around to face him, and Elijah had to remind himself that if he hit Dom now it'd be on tape. "So, tell us, Elijah. How do you feel about being out in the forest at midnight hunting for the ghost of Agnes Brown, the only camper to ever have died at camp, drowning in this very creek?"

"I'm cold," Elijah told him, shivering a bit at the wind blowing through the trees. "And you're full of shit."

Dom squawked. "I am not! It's a true story."

Dom, Elijah and the camera all swung around to look at Billy to settle the dispute. "I have no idea," he said, giving them a look.

"Wait! Shush!" Dom demanded, whipping around to face the other direction. The tape really was going to be like the Blair Witch Project, if only because it gave its viewers motion sickness.

"You're the only one making noise!" Billy hissed back.

"I heard something," Dom said, fear and excitement in his voice.

They listened for a minute.

"I don't hear anything," Elijah said, only to be shushed furiously by Billy and Dom.

Crickets and frogs and the faint murmur of rapids further down the creek. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Elijah strained his ears. Dom swept over the woods around them with the camera, obviously worried about missing the ghost.

There! A small snap.

Elijah looked sharply at Billy, whose eyes were wide. He'd heard it, too.

It was a miracle that they could hear anything over the sound of Elijah's heartbeat, which was ticking up and up as they waited, echoing in his ears.

"Maybe we should go," Billy whispered. He looked worried, but it was hard to tell in the dim light.

"Shhhh."

The small snap sounded again, closer this time.

"Dom," Elijah whispered, "Billy's right. Let's go."

Dom waved him to silence.

They waited, Elijah becoming even more agitated. He didn't know how long they'd been standing there. It felt like forever, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes.

Finally, Dom sighed and straightened up. "Well, this is a bust. Ready to head back?" he asked, voice loud after their quiet listening.

Elijah had two seconds to thank God for Dom's short attention span, and then sound rang out around them, crashing its way closer.

They all turned toward the noise, Dom jumping back, too shocked to do anything for a few seconds.

Then Billy yelled, "RUN!" and they were scrambling to get away, screaming like little girls as they ran.

 _outside the dining hall, sometime later after midnight_

"I think we made it," Dom panted. "I think we got away."

"What do you think it was?" Billy asked, standing rather close to Dom.

"I dunno," Elijah wheezed. His lungs seemed to decide that it was safe to breathe again, and he pulled in a deep, calming breath.

"AAAHHHHHH!" The door to the dining hall flew open, and Beanie came out screaming and swinging a frying pan.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!" Billy, Dom and Elijah screamed, only high pitched and longer, jumping back from the door.

"Did you see it?" Beanie yelled.

"No," Dom cried, "But it was right behind us. Did you?"

"It was in the kitchen!"

"The kitchen?" Billy asked, voice cracking. "But it followed us from the creek."

"You saw it, then? Damn raccoon ate all the bread!" Beanie was still brandishing the frying pan.

Elijah had a sudden urge to laugh hysterically. "Raccoon?"

"I think we've got our stories crossed, man," Dom said. "We haven't seen a raccoon. We haven't actually _seen_ anything." He looked at the camera in his hand. "Hey, it's still on! Maybe it saw something."

Beanie muttered something about useless idiots and wandered back inside.

"Well," Elijah said. "That was fun. But I'm ghost hunted out for the night, so I'm going to go and, um..."

Billy smirked. "Yeah, alright. I think we're going to go 'and, um' as well."

"Maybe twice," Dom chipped in cheerfully.

"We'll relieve Astin, so you 'and, um' with Orli for as long as you like."

"Yeah. And thanks for going with us."

"No problem," Elijah said, hoping that it was too dark for them to see his blush.

 _Orli's room, 12:36 am_

Since it wasn't necessary for all four of them to stay with the guys, they traded off weeks of sleeping in the small cabin designated for support staff. It wasOrli's week, and Elijah was glad. It was always much harder to find some privacy when they were both staying with the campers. He crept in quietly even though he knew that Beanie andViggo were probably still in the kitchen dealing with the raccoon situation. He stood in the doorway to the tiny room where Orli was sleeping and watched him.

He was sprawled out on the tiny mattress, one foot hanging off. He faced the wall, showing Elijah the long curve of his spine.

Elijah shivered, goosebumps breaking out over his arms, and felt his chest tighten.

He went and sat on the bed, waking Orli in the process. Orli rolled over lazily, stretching a bit and grinning up at Elijah.

"Mmm, there you are."

Elijah smiled at him. "Yup. Here I am." He ran his fingers over the tanned skin of Orli's side, ribs protruding a bit more than they probably should. "What are you going to do with me, now that I'm here?"

Orli smirked, completely awake now and eyeing Elijah with interest. "Take off your clothes and maybe I'll tell you."

He toed his shoes off and tugged his tshirt over his head. He stood, not in the mood to tease or taunt tonight, and pulled his shorts and boxers down over skinny hips without having to undo them.

Orli flipped the covers off to reveal that he was naked beneath them. Elijah's breath caught, and he crawled onto the bed over Orli, kissing him and settling down so that Orli's body was stretched out and aligned beneath his.

He was wide awake, adrenaline still pulsing in his veins, and Orli's loose, sleep-warmed body yielded to his as they rocked slowly together.

Orli broke the kiss, hands making circles on Elijah's back. He nipped at Elijah's lower lips and then murmured, "I got you a present."

"Did you?" Elijah said back, their lips so close together that they brushed as he spoke. "What?"

One of Orli's hands reached for the floor, rustled through a bag and returned with a thin tube of lube, pressing it into Elijah's hand.

"Lube?" Elijah inquired, smiling. "Now that's a useful present, because," he turned his head so that he was speaking directly intoOrli's ear, the words becoming a low hiss, "I am going to fuck you tonight." He plunged his tongue into Orli's ear.

Orli's entire body shuddered, erection hardening against Elijah's hip. " _OhGod_. It's not ordinary lube."

"Really?" He turned the tube over and studied the writing. He giggled, unable to help himself as he read out, "Smells and tastes just like coconut?"

"I know how much you like coconut."

"I like it because _you_ always smell like it." He buried his nose against Orli's neck and breathed in deeply. "Love the way you smell."

Orli moaned, almost perfectly quiet. The silence came from both habit and necessity, instilled in them by weeks of stolen moments. "Just fuck me already," he whispered, and Elijah could hear the need in his voice.

He opened the tube, squeezing some of the jelly on his fingers. He swiped his tongue across the coconut-smelling lube, capturing the sugary taste. He offered the fingers to Orli, who swallowed them whole, sucking on them until the taste was gone. He squeezed more out and began to prepare Orli, sharing a coconut-flavored kiss.

Elijah entered him after only a few minutes, his body relaxed and open and warm. Elijah sucked in a quick breath through his nose, looking for the control not to come right there and then, it felt so fucking good, but he just managed to get a big whiff of coconut, which didn't help at all.

" _Move_ , dammit," Orli hissed at him, so Elijah did, stroking in and out, going a bit deep every time he pushed in until he was moving so far in that his hips were grinding againstOrli's thighs. He leaned over and bit Orli's nipple, which changed the direction of his thrusts, the combination causing Orli to whimper.

"Shit," Elijah bit out, and began to jerk Orli off, because he wasn't going to last. It was too much: Orli's body beneath and around him, Orli's small gasps and whines, the smell of coconut everywhere. He came with a sharp, short cry and collapsed.

Only for a second, however. Orli was shifting beneath him, shaking with the need to come. Elijah crawled down his body and shoved his tongue into Orli's loose hole as far as possible, tasting his own come and the coconut lube layered over Orli's own taste. He sealed his lips around the delicate skin and _sucked_ , giving Orli's cock a rough pull at the same time, and Orli came and came, calling out Elijah's name and a curse word mangled together.

Elijah laid back down beside Orli, feeling sticky and smug. Orli pulled him closer until they were thoroughly intertwined, and just as they were both about to fall asleep, Elijah's stomach rumbled, loudly.

Orli laughed. "We probably shouldn't fall asleep like this, anyway. Let's go take a shower and then have a snack. I bought some pop-tarts at the store, as well."

Elijah smiled at the thought. Orli'd gone all the way to the store in town to buy lube and pop-tarts.

"I love you," he said.

Orli rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. "I love you, too, you filthy bastard. Now c'mon."

 _the dining hall, 7:05 am_

"I'm ALIVE, AWAKE, ALERT, ENTHUSIASTIC!" Dom bellowed, attempting to get the kids to sing for their breakfast. A few of the younger ones had joined in, but most everyone looked ready to kill him.

Elijah winced, but was in far too good of a mood to get annoyed with Dom. Not even the sight of crusty, overcooked scrambled eggs brought down his morning. He'd slept withOrli for a while and had another pop-tart before slipping away this morning and back to his own bunk in the camper cabin.

"Seems like someone had a good night," Billy commented, passing him a plateful of greasy bacon.

"Like you didn't," Elijah said and smiled. Billy snickered and pointed to Orli, who was sitting across the room wearing an almost identical smile and being interrogated by Liv.

"It was rather eventful," Billy agreed. "Dom returned the video camera before coming to breakfast."

"Good." He didn't want to get accused of stealing it. Especially since he had.

"Beanie's still on the war path about that stupid raccoon. Peter's going to get more bread later, and Viggo's dead set on catching and killing it. I wouldn't be surprised if we find him in camo with his face painted green or something. I hope Miranda and Dom don't find out, because they'll freak."

"I think Beanie's frying pan has a better chance than Viggo, camo or not," he said.

"True. I'm just glad it didn't get into the stuff for the campfire tonight."

"Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten. Mmm, s'mores. Untouched by Beanie in any way."

Billy looked at his plate and agreed.

 _at the pool, 3:22 pm_

Miranda joined him at the side of the pool to dangle her feet in the water like Elijah was doing. "Didn't feel like swimming?" She asked, leaning back on her arms to look at the sky.

"Not today," he replied. It was slightly cooler today, just enough to make sitting there comfortable.

"Not trying to hide any hickies, I hope." Her voice was filled with humor.

Liv must have told her, he thought, but didn't much care. "Not this time."

She laughed. "Is anyone straight at this camp?"

"Astin," Elijah responded immediately. "And Peter is, too."

"Viggo, too, I guess," she added after thinking for a minute.

"God, no," Elijah said. "I'm pretty sure he's trying to get into Beanie's pants. Or already has. Whatever. I don't need the details."

"How do you figure?" she asked, confused.

"He actually eats Beanie's food. Gets seconds even." Miranda made a disgusted face. "I know. If that's not love, I don't know what is."

"So about three-fourths of the staff is gay?" Miranda giggled. "I guess I really do fit in here."

Elijah raised his eyebrows, but didn't inquire further. "If Dom hasn't made you feel like running away crying yet, then you probably do."

"I can take him. In fact, I already have some interesting blackmail material."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. It seems someone borrowed my camera last night and made me the most amusing video..."

Elijah blushed bright red. "DOM! You dork!" he yelled, highly aware of the little pitchers with big ears.

Dom turned around to face him from where he was wrestling with several boys all intent on dunking him, lost his balance and went down, pushed underwater by the giggle campers. He finally extracted himself and swam over.

"What now?"

"You didn't erase the tape, you idiot," Elijah whispered harshly.

His eyes widened comically. "Oops!"

Miranda just laughed. "You guys scream like girls." Dom scowled, and Elijah covered his face with his hands. "What would Peter say? And don't even try to steal that tape back! It's well hidden."

Like that would stop him, Elijah thought. Dom just shook his head and swam away, splashing them as he went.

"You really are fitting in. We blackmail each other all the time."

"Really? Like when?"

"Oh, man, Orli caught Viggo wanking in the woods this one time and got a few pictures. He got Viggo to change the oil in his car and wash it. He hid the pictures in the soap box, which sits just outside Viggo's room in the staff cabin, and he never found it! Not too much use for soap, I guess."

"That's so great," Miranda laughed.

"Yeah, he gave them back at the end of summer last year, but Viggo doesn't know that he has copies. And the negatives."

"Excellent," she said, and then turned her face back to the sky. They sat in companionable silence until it was time to go.

 _the fire pit, 8:31 pm_

The fire was pretty high, but that's because Dom had put so many logs on it. Billy'd finally restrained him and sent him off to play flashlight tag with the rowdier boys.

Elijah was working as part of the s'more assembly line. He had the graham crackers. Everyone had decided after the first week not to let him near the chocolate. He didn't know what their problem was. It wasn't like they'd actually run out. Just almost.

Liv and Miranda were also doing s'mores, giggling and gossiping as they worked. Astin was prowling the edges of the fire, making sure no one got too close. Billy was playing softly on his guitar while talking with Peter, both of them keeping an eye on everyone. Viggo and Beanie were up by the dining hall setting raccoon traps. Orli was sitting in a big group of girls, chatting and getting covered in melted marshmallow. It was even in his hair, which was some feat considering how short it was.

Light from the fire washed over everything. Orli grinned and mouthed, I love you! before turning his attention back to the girls.

Elijah grinned back and pilfered a piece of chocolate. It was his night off, and Orli had mentioned that it was his turn to try out the new lube.

The stars winked down at them, and Elijah sighed happily. This was as close to perfect as it got.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at livejournal [here](http://often-adamanta.livejournal.com/171947.html).


End file.
